Matters of Family
by LadyLaceBlack
Summary: The summer before his fourth year, Harry Potter receives a letter for a boy named Acheron. Soon after his return to Hogwarts, he finds out exactly who Acheron is and he's not happy.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Matters of Family

 **Disclaimer:** J. K. Rowling and associates own _Harry Potter_ and all characters from the series. Any characters I make are completely fictional and neither belongs in the original _Harry Potter_ series nor in real life. I am writing this for fun, not profit.

 **Pairings:** (Undecided as of yet)

 **Rating:** R (… not sure if I'll actually need this rating, but better to be safe then sorry… Besides, I'll at the very least have some cursing and abuse.)

 **Warnings:** Swearing, abuse, neglect, murder, kidnapping, could be considered an AU *shrugs*,

 **Summary:** The summer before his fourth year, Harry Potter receives a letter for a boy named Acheron. Soon after his return to Hogwarts, he finds out exactly who Acheron is and he's not happy.

 _ **Chapter 1 ~ A Letter for A**_ _ **cheron**_

 _October 31, 1983_

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of Number Four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors. The Dursleys had a young son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but even they had a few secrets, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover them.

Unfortunately, it seemed that that fear was about to come true.

Petunia and Vernon Dursley sat in their living room, their three year old son upstairs and totally unaware that anything was wrong. But something was very wrong and the old man in the strange robes with the half-moon spectacles reminded them of this fact. All three of the adults were staring at the tiny, battered body of a dark haired boy who looked no older than a year of age. Finally, after maybe ten minutes, the old man seemed to come to a decision about something as his face hardened and his eyes grew cold.

"We'll have to replace him."

"No! Absolutely not! We're not taking in another one of your freaks!" Vernon spat out, but froze as the old man looked at him coldly.

"You will or you will find the authorities beating on your door for child abuse and murder."

Petunia whimpered at the thought, though her eyes had never left the prone form of her three year old nephew that lay on the floor. Vernon turned a dark shade of purple, but catching the deadly look that the old wizard was giving him, quickly paled to an almost sheet white.

Hearing no further complaints from the two Dursleys, the old man nodded and picked up the child's body before heading towards the door, pausing for a second as his hand touched the handle.

"I'll have the replacement by the end of the week… Oh and, this time, do try not to kill the child. I would be very… unhappy at such news."

The two Dursleys shuddered and nodded, but the old man was already gone.

 **XxXxXxXx**

 _June 2, 1994_

Harry blinked at the owl in front of him and the owl blinked back before shaking its leg at Harry to take the letter. Harry quickly glanced around to check to see if any of the Dursleys were around. Sighing in relief when he saw no one, he turned back to the owl and hesitantly took the letter. Without even a second glance, the owl took off as Harry looked at the letter in confusion. It had no name, nor an address. Deciding it could wait, Harry stuffed it into his jeans to read later.

It was hours before Harry was in the relative safety of his own room. He hadn't been able to finish his chores before Uncle Vernon had returned from work and his stomach growled in protest at his punishment. Ignoring it, Harry dug the now crumpled letter out of his pocket and sat down on his bed to look it over. It looked fairly old, but not weather worn and he didn't recognize the crest on the back. With no addressee, Harry assumed it was for him, shrugged, and opened it.

 _November 7, 1988_

 _Dear A_ _cheron_ _Narcissus Malfoy,_

Harry blinked. This letter clearly wasn't meant for him, but he'd never heard of an Acheron Malfoy, though that could be because he didn't know much about the Malfoy family, and the letter was almost five years old, so his curiosity got the better of him. Besides, it wasn't his fault that he'd gotten the letter.

 _November 7, 1988_

 _Dear A_ _cheron_ _Narcissus Malfoy,_

 _I'm not sure when this letter will reach you. I hope we'll find you soon but as it's been five years since you went missing I thought I would write this and hopefully you'll get it and come home. I_ _'m sure Cyrus, the owl that I have trusted this letter with, will find you. I was assured when I bought him that he had the best pedigree and training and no matter how long it took, he'd find you._

 _I don't know why you were taken from our home or who did it, but I hope that wherever you are you were raised properly and with love._

 _If you don't know about any of this, I am your father. My name is Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. Your mother's name is Narcissa Elladora Malfoy, though her maiden name is Black. You have an older brother, Draco Lucius Malfoy, who was born June 5th of the year 1980._

 _You are A_ _cheron_ _Narcissus Malfoy and you were born October 23rd of the year 1983. You were born two months and eight days earlier than the due date, thus you were quite small and ill when you were born. You were put under observation in St. Mungo's NICU. On the morning of November 7th 1983, you were discovered to be missing._

 _Your mother and I have searched relentlessly for the past five years for you. We will continue to search for you. Never forget that._

 _We've told Draco about you, his missing baby brother. He's just as anxious to have you home as your mother and I are._

 _We love you._

 _Please come home._

 _Please be safe._

 _Your Father,_

 _Lucius Malfoy_

Harry blinked and found that he had teared up. Though he didn't like the Malfoys, he understood that maybe they were jerks because they were missing their son. Even Harry, who had never known his parents, felt like being an ass sometimes for his lack of a caring family. And maybe that's why he handled it better than them? The only family he knew hated him for what he was and what his parents were, so he'd grown up and learned to deal with it long before he ever knew that his parents were good people and not drunks.

Folding the letter back up, Harry went to his pathetic broken desk and pulled a sheet of parchment and a quill towards him. He could at least send the letter back.

 **XxXxXxXx**

Lucius Malfoy rubbed his temples, trying to fend off the headache that was threatening to bloom into something terrifying. Fudge was an idiot and his letters were often worse then talking to the man face to face. After all, he actually had to pay attention to respond to those.

A tapping on the window to his study caught his attention and he hoped that it wasn't another letter from Fudge. But the snowy white owl that flew in as he opened the window was one he'd never seen before. The owl was a beauty, and she landed on his desk neatly, unlike the temperamental ministry owls that Fudge used. Lucius raised an elegant eyebrow at the owl, but she only gave him a look and raised her leg for him to take the letter.

The letter was addressed to "Mr. Malfoy" and the scrawl was barely more than chicken scratch. Lucius nearly threw the letter away, but as he moved to do so, the owl nipped at his fingers.

What followed was a ten minute staring contest between an owl and a man.

Finally the aristocratic man raised his eyebrow again as he started to open the letter, keeping his eyes trained on the owl. The owl seemed to give him a disapproving look and Lucius' eyebrows furrowed in confusion. How in hell could an owl make him feel like he was five years old again and being chastised by his mother?

Shaking off the feeling, Lucius looked down and started to read the letter.

 _June 2, 1994_

 _Dear Mr. Malfoy_

 _The enclosed letter seems to have come to me by mistake, so whomever you got Cyrus from lied to you about him being able to find your son. I'm not proud to say it, but curiosity got the better of me and I read it. I may not like you or your son Draco, but if missing a child or brother is as lonely as missing one's parents (even if I didn't know them) then I wouldn't wish that on my greatest enemy, let alone you. (Sorry, neither you nor Draco is my greatest enemy.)_

 _I hope you find your son._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Harry Potter_

 _P.S. Cyrus just came back, but I'm going to let him rest a day or two before I send him home. He looks utterly exhausted._

Lucius stared at the letter, his face pale white. Then his eyes turned to the second letter in the envelope, one he hadn't seen in almost five years. Quickly clutching both letters, he turned on his heel and practically flew out of his study.

"NARCISSA!"

 **XxXxXxXx**

"Harry why do you have two owls?"

Harry looked up as Hermione entered the compartment, her eyes on Hedwig's cage where she and Cyrus slept side by side.

"Oh, that's Cyrus. He brought me a letter by accident but has refused to go back home since. I figured I'd give him to Malfoy to send home."

"Malfoy?"

"Well, yeah, Cyrus belongs to his dad so…"

"And you say he brought you a letter by accident? Funny… I could have sworn that delivery owls are magically bound to deliver the letter to the proper recipient or die…"

"Well, maybe he got confused or something? He was flying around for five years or so…"

Hermione looked troubled but her gaze sharpened as she shot a look at Harry.

"How do you know he was flying around for five years?"

"Uh… well… I may have read the letter…"

" **HARRY JAMES POTTER**!"

 **XxXxXxXx**

A flash of pale blond hair could be seen through the crowd and Harry grabbed Hedwig's cage to run up and catch up to the boy.

"Malfoy!"

The other boy stopped and looked back to see Harry running up. Harry would've expected Malfoy to sneer and keep walking, but the blond kept his face blank as Harry caught up to him. Opening the cage, Hedwig and Cyrus flew out to land on each of Harry's shoulders. Transferring Cyrus to his arm, he thrust the bird towards Malfoy.

"Here, Cyrus belongs to your dad and I can't convince him to go home so you take him."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow but just smirked and started to walk away throwing back a flippant "Keep him, Cyrus is yours. He was meant to stay with who he delivered the letter to."

Confused, Harry watched as Malfoy walked away before he turned his gaze on the owl.

"What am I going to do with you?"

 **XxXxXxXx**

"Harry!" Ron muttered.

"What?"

Harry looked around; the whole class was staring at him. He sat up straight; he had been almost dozing off, lost in the heat and his thoughts.

"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the baleful influence of Pluto," said Professor Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on to her words.

"Born under - what, sorry?" said Harry.

"Pluto, dear, the planet Pluto!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news. "I was saying that Pluto was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth… Your pale skin… your small stature… tragic losses so young in life… I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born about a week before Samhain?"

"Samhain?"

"Halloween, dear."

"No," said Harry, "I was born in July."

Ron hastily turned his laugh into a hacking cough.

 **XxXxXxXx**

"I'm going to be testing you on your ability to brew a potion following **only** verbal instructions today. As such, this is a potion not in your books, so that you have had no chance to study it."

Harry glanced to his right to see that Hermione looked pale and panic stricken. Ron, in the seat behind him, was grumbling under his breath. In the row ahead of them, Neville was starting to hyperventilate.

"POTTER!"

Harry's head shot up to look at Snape, his eyes wide, whether in surprise or fear, no one was sure.

"Being as that I already know you have difficulties… listening in class…"

Harry glowered at the man, but Snape just smirked.

"You will be preparing your potion at the front of the class, in front of all your peers, under my instruction, as an example."

Snickers could be heard on the Slytherin side of the room as Harry paled. If he failed to do this perfectly, then it was likely many of the Gryffindors, including Neville, would have unsalvageable potions. Gulping and digging up every part of him that had ever wanted to do well during school when he was younger, Harry grabbed his stuff and shuffled to the front of the room.

Snape sat Harry down at the man's desk and Harry couldn't help but sit stiffly as if he was in trouble and was about to get a beating from his uncle. Harry wasn't sure that if he got up from this seat that he'd be mentally capable of sitting in it again. Luckily, or unluckily, Snape already seemed to have all the ingredients laid out on his desk.

"Now, for most potions, you would need a pewter cauldron, which is why that is on your list of requirements at the beginning of school. However, because I am choosing to test you on a potion that is not on the syllabus, you all do not have the proper cauldrons."

Harry glanced up from staring at his hands and realized that the cauldron on the desk was silver. Looking around, Harry saw a line of silver cauldrons floating from a room in the back towards the student desks.

"Because of this, I have gotten silver cauldrons for you to use. However… because these are on loan, if you damage them in any way, you will be working for me and my… associate to replace the price of the cauldron."

Nervous gulps could be heard from the Gryffindor side of the room, though the Slytherins were smirking and Harry wondered if maybe they were exempt from this rule.

"And because I know that some of you are… wealthier than others, I have decided that no student will be allowed to pay for the cauldrons with money. If you break it, you will work for it."

Several of the Slytherins paled at this and lost their smirks and Harry couldn't help but grin. Finally! Some fairness in Snape's class.

"Now, for the first half of the class, you will watch Mr. Potter make the potion under my instruction. For the second half, you will follow my verbal instructions to make the potion. At the end of class, I will take the potion that was made the best and test it… on Mr. Potter."

Harry paled and looked up at Snape in a panic as the Slytherins snickered. Snape turned to the black-haired boy and smirked.

"Now, let's get to work, shall we?"

 **XxXxXxXx**

Harry fidgeted as the potion cooled. If he did everything right, it was supposed to be turning a puce color soon. Harry watched the slowly cooling potion as if it were a ticking time bomb as it stayed blue…

Finally, it faded into puce and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He moved to get up to return to his seat, but Snape grabbed his shoulder and pressed him back down into the chair.

"It seems that this is the best way for Mr. Potter to learn, as his potion is perfect. As such, I see no need to wait until the end of the lesson to test it on him."

Harry's already pale and clammy skin seemed to take on a grey shade.

"Go fetch your ingredients and as soon as you're back in your seat, we will test the potion on Mr. Potter and then you all will follow my instructions to create your potions."

The Slytherins were quick to get their ingredients, but the Gryffindors did it slowly as to try to give Harry more time before he had to drink the concoction that he'd made. But after getting barked at by the Potions Master, even they hurried up to get back to their seats, shooting looks of sympathy over at Harry. As the students settled, Snape poured some of Harry's potion into a vial and handed it to the boy with a smirk.

Lightly shaking, Harry grabbed the vial before pulling up all his Gryffindor courage and downing it in a single swig. Within seconds Harry felt like his entire body was on fire, but found that he could neither move nor scream. Luckily, it didn't last long and Harry took in a gulp of air as the pain disappeared.

Looking around, Harry found that his vision was blurry so he took off his glasses to clean them, only to find that he could see just fine without them. Everyone was staring at him, wide eyed and open-mouthed, and Harry shrunk in on himself.

"What?"

Harry blinked as he heard his voice. It sounded different, more childish and melodic.

"… Class, it's seems that Mr. Potter was replaced with this young man. This potion that we are making is a potion to remove all glamours and body modifying enchantments and potions. It is called the Verum Corpus potion."

"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS HARRY?!"

Harry ducked as a spell shot at him from the Gryffindor side of the room, before he looked back up and saw Ron standing up, his face twisted in rage.

"Weasley, twenty points from Gryffindor for casting spells in my class."

Harry stared in shock at his friend before Snape snapped his fingers in front of his face and caught his attention.

"Now, what's your name?"

"Harry Potter, you know that sir."

"Professor, how about we call in the Aurors? Because that clearly isn't Potter."

Harry looked at Malfoy in confusion, but the blond just smirked at him, though instead of his normal haughty look, he had a kind look in his eyes.

As Snape left for his office, ordering everyone to stay in their seats (Except for Malfoy and Zabini who were told to make sure Harry didn't go anywhere), Harry looked in confusion at the class, wondering what was going on. Finally, Hermione seemed to take some pity on him as she got up and rushed over to him.

"Ok, if you really believe you're Harry Potter, I want you to tell me something that only you would know."

"What do you mean 'If I'm really Harry Potter'? Of course I'm Harry Potter, I've always been Harry Potter! Why are you all acting like this 'Mione?"

"Just… tell me something only you would know Harry."

Harry stared at her, confused, but as she continued to stare him straight in the eyes, he finally moved forward to whisper in her ear.

"In first year you found out about my secret and rocked me to sleep after everyone else went to bed."

Hermione pulled back with wide eyes and watched his face for a minute before she dug into her bag to pull out a mirror and hand it to him. Looking at it in confusion, Harry flipped it around and jumped in surprise. Hermione caught the mirror and held it for him, as his hands had suddenly started shaking.

Staring back at him was a pale, platinum-blond curly-long-haired boy with ice blue eyes. He was very feminine and aristocratic looking, with a small face and cupid bow lips… and there was no lightning bolt scar.

"Bu-But I don't look like that!... That's an enchanted mirror, right 'Mione?"

"… No, it's not an enchanted mirror. Which means… you're not Harry Potter."

Harry, or Not-Harry, stared at Hermione in shock, no words able to come out of his mouth. Not Harry Potter? That seemed impossible. He'd always been Harry.

"If I'm not Harry, then who am I?!"

"Well… you look kind of… well, a lot like… Mrs. Malfoy. You remember her? From the World Cup?"

Not-Harry stared in shock. Yeah, he remembered her. And then he remembered some things that had previously bugged him.

' _You are A_ _cheron_ _Narcissus Malfoy and you were born October 23_ _rd_ _'_

' _-you were born about a week before Samhain? …Halloween, dear.'_

' _On the morning of November 7th 1983, you were discovered to be missing'_

' _delivery owls are magically bound to deliver the letter to the proper recipient or die'_

' _Cyrus is yours. He was meant to stay with who he delivered the letter to.'_

Not-Harry blinked at Hermione, his face gone a very sheet white.

"This is.. this is all some prank from Snape, right? I mean… I mean… I'm Harry. I've always been Harry!"

Hermione looked hesitant to say anything to the increasingly panicking boy and couldn't help but look towards Malfoy for an explanation.

"Look, it's not that bad. So what if you're not the famous Harry Potter, you're still a Malfoy and that makes you better."

Not-Harry snarled as he jumped to his feet, Hermione scrambling out of his way.

"YOU SHUT UP! I'M NOT A MALFOY! I REFUSE TO BE RELATED TO YOU AND YOUR-"

But before he could say anything more, a stunner hit him in the back as Snape walked back into the room. Falling to the floor, Not-Harry desperately wished that this was all a nightmare.

"Professor! He's just a child!"

"I understand this Miss Granger, however, I was informed to stun him and hold him here until the Aurors arrive. Now, as it will be some time until they arrive, you will all go back to your seats and we will continue the class."

Not-Harry was tugged up from the floor and sat back in Snape's chair before the man conjured ropes to bind him to it. Miserably, Harry watched as Snape continued class. However, by the time 20 minutes had past, every potion in the room was ruined and five cauldrons had been destroyed. Snape dismissed the class in disgust and assigned them an essay on the potion that had just turned Not-Harry's life upside down. As the last students trickled out, two wizards and a witch in Auror's robes entered the room. They took a sample of the potion Not-Harry had ingested, a list of names of those who'd witnessed the event, and then both the boy and Snape were whisked away to the ministry to have their statements taken.

 **XxXxXxXx**

Hours after arriving at the ministry, it had been concluded that Not-Harry had been raised as Harry Potter with no knowledge to who he truly was and therefore was not criminally charged with anything. False, mostly faded, memories were removed from the boy's mind as evidence, including the memory of Lily Potter's death.

A blood sample to was taken from the boy, to be tested against old missing person's reports and because of testimonies, Not-Harry was first tested to make sure he was not Acheron Malfoy. Unfortunately for Not-Harry, the results came back positive and he was informed of his true identity and that his parents had already been notified. The Malfoy's were on their way to pick him up.

Confused, scared, and hyperventilating, Acheron bolted from Madam Bones' office and ran towards the elevator. As he turned a sharp corned he heard the elevator ding and made a mad dash for it as the doors started to opening.

But just when he'd thought he'd made it, his small body slammed into someone and hands grabbed his shoulders to steady him. Looking up, he paled to see Lucius Malfoy. Before the boy could react, someone had grabbed hold of him and was hugging him.

"Oh, Acheron, my baby!"

Just as he realised that it was Narcissa Malfoy who was holding him, Lucius also bent down and held them both. Luckily, the moment didn't last long as the two adults regained their composer and stood up. Acheron couldn't get away however, as held his hand and gently led him back into Madam Bones' office and the boy just didn't have the heart to run from the woman when she kept glancing down out him with a tiny smile and tears glistening in her eyes.

Staring down at his shoes, Acheron allowed himself to be lead back into the office to hear more of his impending doom as a son of the Malfoy's.

 _ ***Author's Note***_

 _ **To be honest, this was originally a story titled "Stars and Flowers" that I wrote under a different pen-name. However, due to various reasons, that account and all it's works were deleted and I've started to re-write this story. I hope to have this version turn out better then the original as the original ended up going nowhere after only the first chapter.**_

 _ **Here's to hoping this revised version turns out better.**_

 _ **Very sincerely yours,**_

 _ **Lady Lace Black**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Matters of Family

 **Disclaimer:** J. K. Rowling and associates own _Harry Potter_ and all characters from the series. Any characters I make are completely fictional and neither belongs in the original _Harry Potter_ series nor in real life. I am writing this for fun, not profit.

 **Pairings:** (Undecided as of yet)

 **Rating:** R (… not sure if I'll actually need this rating, but better to be safe than sorry… Besides, I'll at the very least have some cursing and abuse.)

 **Warnings:** Swearing, abuse, neglect, murder, kidnapping, probably considered an AU *shrugs*,

 **Summary:** The summer before his fourth year, Harry Potter receives a letter for a boy named Acheron. Soon after his return to Hogwarts, he finds out exactly who Acheron is and he's not happy.

 **Note from Author:** I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates. Due to some… unforeseeable events, my boyfriend and I have found ourselves currently homeless and I am pregnant. I've had little opportunity to work on my fanfictions, but I will update as much as I am able. Also, to SmileSimplify, to your questions about the 3 magical artifacts, I can't tell you everything, because if I told you, you'd know where this story is going and there'd be no point in reading it. But maybe some questions will be answered in this chapter.

Please enjoy chapter 2.

 **Sincerely,**

 **Lady Lace Black**

 **P.S.**

Wizarding color palette's are as followed:

(Muggle Color Palette = Wizarding Color Palette)

Pure Spring = Pure Ostara

Tinted Spring = Light Ostara

Toned Spring = Dark Ostara

Shaded Spring = True Ostara

Pure Autumn = True Mabon

Tinted Autumn = Light Mabon

Toned Autumn = Pure Mabon

Shade Autumn = Dark Mabon

Pure Summer = True Litha

Tinted Summer = Light Litha

Toned Summer = Pure Litha

Shaded Summer = Dark Litha

Pure Winter = Pure Yule

Tinted Winter = Light Yule

Toned Winter = True Yule

Shaded Winter = Dark Winter

 _ **Chapter 2 ~**_

Acheron stared down at the floor as Mrs. Bones talked with the Malfoy's, his parents! Oh merlin, what was he going to do? Ignoring the past history between himself and Draco, let alone the previous altercations with , the only memories he had of having parents, false memories at that, was of them dying!

And then a realization occurred to Acheron.

He wasn't **Harry Potter** anymore! Voldemort had no reason to kill him anymore!

Acheron didn't see the others in the room look at him as the little boy gasped. And he was too lost in his own thoughts to see their panicked expressions when he began to hyperventilate.

"Quick, he's going into shock!"

Acheron didn't feel Lucius scoop him up and the boy blacked out during the Floo Trip to St. Mungo's, but Mrs. Bones watched in amazement as she rushed behind the Malfoy's. As Lucius held the little boy, constantly checking his temperature and vitals, Narcissa immediately took charge when it came to speaking with the Healers and explaining the situation. Mrs. Malfoy was just as clear and concise as any Healer or fully trained Auror and was able to get her son seen to a lot faster then most other patients because of it.

The child was sleeping in Lucius' arms now, but Narcissa and Mrs. Bones were listening to the St. Mungo's Healers as they explained what other problems the child might suffer.

"He'll likely suffer panic attacks frequently until he gets used to his new environment. Also, the scans show past physical abuse and a long history of malnutrition. We're going to prescribe him some potions to bring his health up to the levels they should be, but because of how long the abuse went on, he's more than likely going to suffer stunted growth for the rest of his life."

glanced at the Malfoy couple. To the untrained eye, their faces were carefully blank, but to the Head of the Auror Department, the two were so furious that they couldn't speak.

"Another side effect is that the malnutrition may have caused some brain damage, in a way that could affect his ability to learn or socialize."

"You're saying that he's retarded?!"

"No, not at all ! Young Acheron has been harmed badly by the way he was raised by whomever took him. The way he was raised caused damage to both his body and mind that may or may not be able to be treated. To know the true extent of the damage, he needs to start seeing a mind healer to receive some tests that will let us know. Also, any observations you and your wife can tell the mind healer of how he interacts with his peers would help move the process along faster. But until we know the extent of the damage, we can't know what all is wrong or how long it will take to cure him, if he can be cured."

Both the Malfoy's were very pale at that point and even felt pity for the family as they left to take their son home. Sighing to herself, she headed back to the office. She needed to start two investigations now, the first to bring criminal charges on anyone involved in the kidnapping and abuse of Acheron Malfoy. And the second, to find out what really happened to Harry Potter.

 **XxXxXxXx**

Acheron woke in the most comfortable bed he'd ever slept in, even more comfortable than the beds at Hogwarts. Looking around, Acheron stared blankly at the extravagant white stone walls and dark wood furniture that filled the room. The floor was of the same dark wood but was covered by an elegant white persian rug.

"I'm glad to finally see you awake."

Acheron looked over and eyed Mr. Malfoy who was sitting in a comfy looking reading chair next to the bed. An emerald blanket was draped across his legs and Acheron wondered if the man had stayed there all night.

Lucius watched as his youngest son eyed him over, the boy's expression curiously blank but his eyes wary. It hurt, but knowing that they couldn't just suddenly be the family that they would've, and should've, been, Lucius hid the pain to be dealt with later.

Realizing that the child wasn't going to speak, Lucius stood folding the blanket as he did so.

"Breakfast will be served soon. Your mother and I would be glad if you were to join us, but we understand if you would prefer to break your fast in your room to give you some time to adjust. We would like to go shopping with you after breakfast as this afternoon you have appointments at St. Mungo's."

"Appointments….?"

Lucius looked at his son and, for just a moment, Acheron saw sorrow and a great rage swirling in the man's grey, no silver, eyes. But the emotions were quickly hidden, so fast the Acheron wasn't able to do more than recognize the feelings that Mr. Malfoy, his… father, with an expertise that Acheron couldn't imagine achieving.

"Yes, appointments. You'll be visiting St. Mungo's quite regularly for the next few months to, hopefully, reverse the damage that's been inflicted on your body and mind."

Damage?... He was damaged?

 **XxXxXxXx**

Narcissa looked down at her youngest son as the boy stared blankly at the rolls of fabric on the wall of Twilfitt and Tattings. Acheron hadn't eaten breakfast with the family and, according to their new house elf Mimzy, the child hadn't touched an crumb of food in his room either. Sighing, she turned back towards .

"I need a full wardrobe made for the season and work started on custom designs for next season. Color Palette must be Light Litha, accents of pure silver and shooting-star gold. For pops of color in the dress robes, I would suggest teals, aquas, and the like from the Pure Yule Palette."

Mr. Twilfitt smiled gently down at Acheron.

"Yes, the Ice Prince Palette that you dreamed up so long ago works perfectly for your son."

Narcissa smiled as Acheron finally reacted, his eyes jumping to , wide in shock.

"Oh yes young man, Lady Malfoy has been dreaming of you since before you were born. You're brother was close to suiting the palette, but his silver eyes didn't quite fit. Very close, but no cigar. But your eyes fit perfectly. My Lady, I do believe you're eldest son may lose out on the Ice Prince title. I believe the masses will view him as the Golden Prince that you imagined now."

Acheron's head snapped back to stare at his mother who just smiled.

"Yes, I believe so. Don't you think Acheron?"

"... But his eyes are silver…"

Both adults chuckled and the child blushed.

"Yes, but if you look closely enough, he has little gold flecks in his eyes. They're easier to see when he wears the correct color palette."

"That reminds me, I believe that the gold lace and brocade that you ordered has finally arrived. Would you like me to start work on the designs for Draco as well?"

"Of course."

 **XxXxXxXx**

Narcissa watched happily as Acheron devoured the food in front of him. His table manners were atrocious, but they could correct that later. She was just so glad to see him eating. In comparison to Draco at that age, Acheron ate very little, but the Healers informed her that it was to be expected. With the steps they and the family were taking to recuperate the child, Acheron's appetite would eventually increase. She glanced at Lucius, who to outside observers looked quite indifferent, but she could see that he was just as glad as she was to see the boy eating. It was a bitter happiness, overshadowed by the anger towards the muggles that did this and Albus Dumbledore whom they were sure had a hand in it.

Fellow witches and wizards walking by were staring and whispering and as Acheron took notice, his appetite seemed to shrivel quickly until he was hunched in his seat and doing nothing more but pushing his food around his plate. Sighing, Narcissa checked the time with a flick of her wand before standing.

"Come, Acheron, we must be getting to St. Mungo's. We don't wish to be late for your appointment."

The child nodded solemnly as Lucius left to pay the bill. Taking her son's hand, who flinched at the touch, Narcissa apparated them both to Purge and Dowse Ltd, stepped through the barrier, and into the Reception area. Stepping up to the desk, she waited patiently for the receptionist to take notice.

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy! What can I do for you today?"

"Acheron Malfoy is here for a few appointments. An evaluation with Healer Ellesmere on the Third Floor, an assessment with Healer Beor on the Fourth Flour, and a checkup with Healer Fadawar on the Ground Floor."

"Ah, yes. Here's his patient passes and your parental pass. You're appointment with Healer Ellesmere is in ten minutes. The assessment with Healer Beor is at 2 o'clock. You should be done with him by about five or five-thirty. You'll have a short break before seeing Healer Fadawar at six-thirty. When you're all done, you can come back here to schedule the next series of appointments before you leave. Thank you and have a nice day!"

Narcissa swept away towards the elevators as the witch flashed her a smile, making sure to keep at a pace that Acheron could easily keep up with. Today was going to be a long day.

 **XxXxXxXx**

Acheron sat nervously on the edge of his chair. Healer Ellesmere had been nice, but she'd given him so many potions to take daily for the next month that he wasn't sure he could keep all the instructions right. Healer Beor had been interesting to talk to. They hadn't really talked about anything important, but the man had said he'd like to get to know Acheron and for Acheron to get to know him. Healer Fadawar had reminded him of Madam Pomphrey… if she was a 195cm tall bodybuilding black man. Next to him, -... Mother... Was scratching away on some parchment with a slytherin green quill as they sat in the MoM Atrium, waiting for Luci-Father.

"Mrs. Malfoy! I didn't expect to see you here."

Both blondes looked up and saw Minister Fudge walking towards them. Mother gracefully stood up to greet the man, so Acheron hurriedly followed her lead.

"And this must be your youngest son? I had heard he'd been found, in the guise of Harry Potter no less!"

"Yes, it was a shock to us all."  
"Well of course! It was a shock to everyone! I do wonder though, why you and Lucius haven't spoken to the press yet?"

Acheron's eyebrows shot up and he looked at his mother in mild surprise.

"Well, the investigation is still ongoing and we wouldn't want those who had anything to do with our son's kidnapping to know to much. It's a pity though, that stories have already leaked to the press. After all, doesn't that put the real Potter boy in danger? If he's still alive, that is?"

"Oh! You haven't heard? We were beginning to despair, believing Harry Potter to be dead. According to every tracking spell we have, his magical signature can't be found anywhere in the United Kingdom. But as a last resort, Madam Bones contacted the goblins at Gringotts."  
'The goblins?"

"Oh yes! They have the best blood records and tracking magics in the world. They swear that Harry Potter still lives. So now, we're doing everything we can to find the boy!"

"The goblins won't tell you?"

"Hmph! They only told us that the boy went and got emancipated years ago, meaning we have no right to that information. Madam Bones is going to make an enquiry with the ICW to see if there's any way we can legally find the boy. But it's late, my lady, and I do believe that's Lucius heading our way so I'll bid you and your son a good evening."

 ****Author's Note****

 **Here's chapter 2. I'm not exactly happy with it, but I figured I could get it up for now. Edits can always be made later after all. I truly do apologize for the delay.**

 **For full explanations, or rather for as full of an explanation as I feel is necessary, please see my profile. It is up-to-date.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed.**

 **Very Sincerely Yours,**

 **Lady Lace Black**


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